The Obama strategy for defeat

Arthur Herman:

Yesterday the Obama administration revealed how it plans to reorient our military in order to pay for the half a trillion dollars it wants in defense cuts over the next decade. Under the guise of creating a “leaner, meaner” and more mobile force, President Obama and Secretary of Defense Panetta will actually leave us with an Army, Navy, and Air Force that can be everywhere but fight nowhere; that’s able to act quickly but not decisively, and with few resources to deal with the unexpected — which tends to be the norm in strategic affairs — or project real power where it counts.

Even worse, the Obama-Panetta plan flies in the face of America’s experience in war over the last two decades.

The plan shrinks our Army and Marine Corps down to pre-9/11 levels, while slowing or halting new weapons programs, including replacement ships and planes, for the Navy and Air Force, including the next-generation F-35 fighter (which was supposed to be ruling the skies by 2020 but now will be making only the occasional cameo appearance). That will leave enough conventional forces, the administration insists, to fight one good long war if we need to.

Meanwhile, our operational emphasis will shift from big units and big bases to small, stealthy Special Ops forces and unmanned drone strikes (the one part of the budget that will see a big jump in funding, by 30 percent). These will operate from small “lily pad” bases scattered around the world like the new one planned for Darwin in northern Australia, where mobile Army units and Marine Expeditionary brigades can deploy to help local allies deal with threats, and then return to refit.

In short, Obama’s Team Six hit on Osama bin Laden, and his Predator drone strikes in Pakistan and Yemen, become the new paradigm for America’s future use of military power.

Let’s just hope our enemies cooperate. History strongly suggests they will do the opposite.

In fact, just about every administration and secretary of defense since the Cold War has aimed to create a leaner, meaner American military that’s more mobile and leaves a “smaller footprint” — while also requiring a smaller budget. Then events, and real-life threats, spoil their aim every time.

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It should be noted that this is how the British Empire shrunk to a second and third rate power while trying to pay for social programs that even the richest nations cannot afford.  It is still shrinking while socialism continues to destroy it from within.